Since the earliest days of human history, man has sought to enjoy outdoor activities during the winter. There is evidence of early skiing going back many thousands of years. Recent technological advances have allowed skis to become shorter, smaller and more versatile and has allowed for the creation of sports such as freestyle skiing. Within the last half century, several pioneers have combined elements of skiing, surfing and skateboarding to create a new sport, snowboarding. The more freestyle elements of skiing and snowboarding have evolved into a form of daring acrobatic stunts and maneuvers.
Within the past twenty-five years, many ski areas have begun admitting snowboarders and skiers with shorter skis into their areas and have begun constructing fixed terrain parks for the enjoyment of this form of winter sport. The terrain park features can be enjoyed both by people on snowboards and people on shorter skis. Some of the terrain features include a rail, which is described as a metal bar, either rounded or with a small flat surface over which a skier or snowboarder can slide. This maneuver is called “gibbing”. Another terrain feature is a box which is similar to a rail, but wider. This is similar to a “fun box” for skateboarding that the user can traverse it with skis or snowboards. There are jumps, half pipes and other large features that can be fashioned from snow, but the rails and boxes have to be prepared, either on site or moved from an offsite preparation area and securely fixed to the slope.
Terrain parks feature boxes and rails can either be on a slope or on a level area (known as a “flat”). The rails and boxes are typically accessed by a ramp of some form that can be constructed of snow or a substitute structure. A disadvantage is encountered by existing terrain parks is that the features are not stable own, as their bases need to be buried in snow and frozen in place to provided needed anchorage and stability, making them difficult to move after they have been set in place. Also, in many terrain park arrangements, the features are typically only useful in the winter season, and during the non-winter seasons structures are either moved to a nearby position, out of the active run, or simply left in place due to their heavy weight or bulk. While building a structure from lighter-weight materials would enhance portability (to some extent), it is desirable to construct the terrain features with heavy materials because the winter participants land with force onto the terrain feature. Thus, typical boxes and rails are constructed from sturdy materials that will not fall apart under repeated hard landings. Terrain features that are not well-constructed will become subject to fracturing, splintering and collapse, all of which pose a significant safety problem for both the participants and the property owners.
FIG. 1 is a view 100 of an exemplary terrain park 105, according to the prior art. In this terrain park 105, both a skier 110 and a snowboarder 112 are using the park simultaneously. The skier 110 has skied down to a ramp 114, which is composed primarily of packed snow and executed a jump which has brought him to the top of the “rail” 116. The exemplary rail 116 is a so-called “double barrel” construction composed of a parallel, closely spaced set of round, tubular steel rails 117 which are joined at their ends and supported by vertical stanchions 118. These stanchions can be secured against movement with respect to the slope 130 using a variety of conventional techniques (as described above). Alternately, a “single barrel” rail can be employed or an alternate rail geometry. The skier 110 is sliding downhill on the rail 116 and is oriented transversely in the alignment of his skis to the direction of travel 119. The snowboarder 112 has executed a jump from a packed snow ramp 120 onto the top of a “box” 122. This elongated rectangular structure is fixed to the slope. The top 124 is comprised of a slick material such as a polymer or smooth steel. The snowboarder 112 is traveling downhill on the box 124 in a direction 125. The snowboarder 112 is presently depicted as oriented in the direction of travel 125, but is able to execute spins or reversals of direction by various maneuvers.
Both the rail 116 and box 124 are finite structures. They are not readily enlarged, reduced or converted to a different use or configuration without disassembly and/or structural modification. Likewise, care must be taken to maintain structural strength and safety for the users through period maintenance, which can include replacement and/or reinforcement of various components—wood, in particular, has a tendency to deteriorate as a result of exposure to wetness and repeated stress. Such exposure occurs both during the snow season and thereafter, when the terrain feature's bulk limits or prevents it from storage out of the elements. This increases the cost of maintaining the terrain features and creates a stream of waste as old wood must be swapped out for new wood.
It is desirable to provide a system for constructing terrain parks, usable by a variety of winter sports enthusiasts that relieves the substantial impact on the terrain during non-winter months and that provides a more durable-long lasting structure requiring substantially reduced maintenance. This system should be easy to deploy and disassemble, provide for adjustability and be readily expandable to provide terrain park features for a variety of settings, from a home environment to a school or large resort.